Dubai Property Giant Starts Accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum

26-02-2019

Dubai's Property Giant has confirmed they sent an email to their agents which says property purchases can now be paid in bitcoin or eth through Bitcoin Suisse.

The email itself, forwarded to Trustnodes, is titled: "Buy Emaar Properties using Bitcoin and Ethereum." It says:

"We are pleased to announce now that all customers will be able to buy Emaar Properties using digital currencies (Bitcoin & Ethereum). The transaction will happen through one of the biggest brokers of digital currencies in the world 'Bitcoin Suisse' who are regulated and based in Switzerland."

The email clarified Emaar itself receives fiat as Bitcoin Suisse converts the crypto, with it further stating the agent is the one entering into an agreement with Bitcoin Suisse.

That caused some confusion, with Bloomberg stating Emaar had denied plans to accept payments in digital currencies. Speaking to Trustnodes, Emaar said:

"Emaar does not accept payment in cryptocurrency. Emaar only accepts payment in government-issued (normal) currency, primarily in AED and USD.

Should you be interested in converting cryptocurrency for the purpose of purchasing real estate from Emaar, you may approach Bitcoin Suisse, a regulated financial intermediary based in Switzerland.

It is entirely at Bitcoin Suisse' discretion whether to enter into any agreement with a client, and Bitcoin Suisse does not actively promote the service or target customers residing in the UAE."

Pressed on whether the email had been sent to agents which led to the initial reports, Emaar stated:

"As we shared the details in the previous message. The email shared with the agents states the same. If they are interested in converting cryptocurrency for the purpose of purchasing real estate from Emaar, they may approach Bitcoin Suisse."

Businesses usually accept bitcoin or crypto payments through an intermediary like BitPay, Coinbase Merchants, or in this case Bitcoin Suisse which has a similar service.

They usually have a choice of whether to keep the funds in crypto or to convert it into fiat. In this case Emaar doesn't directly accept crypto itself, presumably due to volatility, but you can now buy their properties with bitcoin or eth through one of their agents who arrange it through Bitcoin Suisse.

This option wasn't previously available. You would have had to convert it into fiat yourself, while now you can pay in bitcoin or eth.

Making Emaar the biggest property developer to provide this option with Dubai's giant handling $6 billion in yearly revenue, suggesting crypto adoption and awareness in the region is significantly increasing.